Murfreesboro Police Department Co-Responder Sustainability Project

The City of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is seeking federal funds to support the implementation of the Murfreesboro Police Department’s (MPD) Co-Responder Sustainability Project. Murfreesboro, with a population of 152,769, is in the geographic center of Tennessee. The city's Police Department is responsible for providing public safety services within the 64 square miles of city boundaries. The Department is organized into five divisions. When fully staffed it is the city's largest operating department with 315 sworn officers to manage fast paced community needs. These dynamics, along with the 40% growth (2010 to 2020 Census), feed MPD's growing call volume and calls for service, which includes increasing calls involving individuals experiencing homelessness coupled with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

Through this project MPD will implement effective co-responder strategies with outcomes that improve and promote public safety while reducing the risk of harm to individuals with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders who encounter law enforcement. The project’s purpose is to enhance an existing law enforcement-behavioral health response by transitioning a successful pilot co-responder program into a fully integrated program that has a well-trained workforce and formalized policy and procedures. This project is necessary to support the continued efforts of MPD to be proactive in meeting growing community needs with safe and effective response approaches.

The intended beneficiaries for this project are adult individuals in Murfreesboro who encounter law enforcement or call for law enforcement services and are experiencing mental health crisis. Along with this is a priority focus for improving services and responses to unhoused individuals, which is supported by MPD’s specialized Homeless Outreach Support Team. There are no planned conference activities for the recommended award.